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Imperial/Sith Intelligence

Current State of the Galaxy: Sith Intelligence
The following contains information through the Knights of the Fallen Empire expansion.

With Zakuul defeated, Sith Intellignce has backed off somewhat in the face of the newly fave of the Eternal Empire. Though the immediate threat has been neutralized the new government of The Alliance presents a new challenge without an immediate solution. Prior to this, Empress Acina had disbanded much of the traditional methods of gathering intelligence and as such, Sith Intelligence has seen a decline in the use of it's organic spies and agents. A former head of the Sphere of Technology, Empress Acina's preference toward droids and electronics has ensured that the majority of Sith Intelligence is largely automated to suit her personal inclinations. Though it is unknown when in the timeline it took place, the Minister of Intelligence Lana Beniko's departure from the Empire certainly effected the organization as well. Though it is believed that Sith Intelligence assets are still functional, their numbers are certainly a shadow of what they once were.

((With the choices available to the player in Iokath, this goes under the assumption that Empress Acina still controls the Empire.))

Sith Intelligence is one of the most mysterious organizations in the Sith Empire, but it's purpose has always been to identify and undermine all threats to imperial dominance. The organization is very proactive in these pursuits, manipulating or destroying potential enemies long before they have a chance to act against the Empire. These efforts are not limited to external threats- Intelligence agents have been known to observe and eliminate “disruptive elements" within their own society just as often as they act against foreign powers.

No official accounts of the formation of Imperial Intelligence have ever been recovered, and their history and even formation remain a matter of speculation rather than fact. Imperial Intelligence has had a hand in a great many things the galaxy may never realize and has manipulated events to the benefit of the Empire leading up to the Great Wars in order to ensure the Empire had a stronger advantage from the start. Intelligence efforts led to Mandalore the Lesser's advancement to the highest position of power within Mandalorian society and ensured the Mandalorian alliance with the Empire. Highly adept information gathering led to the precise knowledge of the Coruscant's planetary defense grid that allowed Imperial forces to carry out one of the most devastating attacks in the entire Great War.

The Galactic War posed several new advantages for Imperial Intelligence to assert their ability. While war raged around the Empire both within and without, skilled agents worked to take down a terrorist threat that targeted the Empire, inserting agents into contested areas without their enemies being any the wiser. From their positions of covert power, Intelligence continued to manipulate events to Imperial benefit and through the use of long-standing undercover agents as well as infiltrators, they were able to further the Empire's agenda on multiple worlds. Imperial Intelligence agents were responsible for sabotaging diplomatic talks between the Republic and the Hutt Cartel Crime Syndicate during the early stages of the Great War as well as uncovering the location of Belsavis prison, which was strictly classified until undercover agents revealed its location.

With victory came problems though as third party machinations and internal power struggles put Intelligence in the sights of a force looking to tear them apart and cripple the Empire's information gathering ability. Following the near collapse of Imperial Intelligence during the Galactic War, the Dark Council took the opportunity to dissolve the weakened organization and scattered the organization's personnel and assets through the Empire, into combat, and into the personal employment of higher ranking Darths and those who would claim them. Without a centrally organized intelligence gathering operation, the Empire found itself unable to meet the demands of what the war required, and with the events of Rishi and Yavin 4 shedding light on how unprepared the Empire was, Intelligence was reconstructed. Rather than staying the somewhat autonomous institution that it was before, the new Sith Intelligence did away with the position of Minister of Intelligence and instead was placed under the direct control of a Darth that in turn answered only to the Dark Council. With the tragedy of Ziost still fresh in everyone's minds, eyes focused once more on Imperial Intelligence and the poorly handled and unexpected turn of events that should have been foreseen, placing Lana Beniko and the Intelligence Commander once more into focus. Rumors persist that the new Commander was guided in part by the old leadership of Imperial Intelligence but there is no proof to the claim and Intelligence continued to grow and expand within the boundaries established, and under the watchful gaze of the Dark Council.

The arrival of the Eternal Empire onto the battlefield changed the entire galaxy as it forced both the Sith Empire and Galactic Republic to kneel in only a matter of months. The throne of the Empire was not left empty for long before Darth Acina took it herself and changed much of the way the Empire handled. Darth Marr and the Intelligence Commander were defeated by Zakuul, the Dark council bent knee to Arcann, Lana Beniko vanished from Imperial space and at least on the surface life went back to normal. Sith Intelligence was reduced to a largely mechanized force of droids, programs and spies and those agents unwilling to stay with their power structure changed so rapidly left, leaving the Intelligence organization a shadow of it's former self. And at the edge of the galaxy and beneath notice, rebellion began to take shape.

Upon Zakuul's defeat, attention turned to The Alliance and the Commander of the group. Though there was a great deal of speculation as to the ultimate goals of the Alliance now that it has control of the Eternal Fleet and the populace of Zakuul, Sith Intelligence remained focused on the new power and what they might do. Spies that were already placed within The Alliance stayed where they were in order to determine the best course of action, reporting back to the Empire when possible.

Sith Intelligence draws its new recruits from several sources. Many come from the Imperial military, having demonstrated a particular combination of loyalty, resourcefulness, and guile during regular service to the Empire. Others are drawn from the galactic underworld, such as noted assassins and information brokers who are persuaded to stand for ideals as well as credits. Some are even pulled from slave populations, giving crafty or specially skilled nonhumans a way to rise to greater heights in the Empire than they would normally be able to achieve. A select few are groomed for roles in the organization from their youth, as state-sponsored orphans often fit the psychological profile desired for independent, emotionally detached fieldwork. There are even rumors suggesting that some Intelligence personnel are genetically engineered for heir work, demonstrating the degree of long-termed planning that the organization is capable of undertaking.

Field agents such as Agents, Ciphers and the occasional Fixer are more heavily trained in combat as they are often placed in volatile and more violent situations where such skills and necessary for success. Trained in a large variety of weapons and combat-associated abilities, they are top-notch operatives who operate as well alone as they do in teams. Though there is an overall training program, many choose to specialize in particular fields that best suits their skillset. Droids, slicing, stealth work, and infiltration are common specialties. In comparison, capital agents such as Watchers and Minders have little need for combat skills beyond basic abilities and instead hone their minds for heavy lifting. Processing information, clearing the way for Field Agents and keeping the whole of Intelligence working as a comprehensive unit with overlapping fields of fire, they are the brain that accompanies the muscle that field agents provide.

Outreach Bureau

A key division run by the Ministry of intelligence is the Outreach Bureau. On the surface, this organization spreads news and information throughout the Empire, keeping citizens up to date on the status of conflicts and vital imperial matters. But in reality, the Outreach Bureau functions as a propaganda machine, boosting the imperial citizenry with exaggerated optimism while waging psychological warfare on its enemies.

Sith Intelligence

The largest organization under the Ministry of Intelligence, Sith Intelligence's previous incarnations answered to the Minister of Intelligence but now the organization is in direct control of the Dark Council. Operating in the shadows, agents of Sith Intelligence are skilled at manipulation, subterfuge, intimidation and assassination and can be just as deadly as their Sith superiors.

Informer: Spies, scouts and informants who gathered information and relayed it back to base. Were often assigned fixed positions they will never leave.

Agent: Standard field agents without a specialization or branch-advancement. Multi-purpose specialists without the autonomy a Cipher possesses.

Cipher: Operatives skilled in assassination, seduction, infiltration and sabotage. Ciphers are often the field agents and main attack force of Intelligence; adept with poisons, rifles and gadgets.

Minder: Information processors who received intelligence from Ciphers and anticipate their enemies movements. Minders work as internal security, screening Intelligence for vulnerabilities, and addressing any breaches.

Fixer: Technical agents who ware adept at slicing, engineering and biomechanics. Often process and make sense of technical data (such as datapads and bioscans) gathered by Ciphers and Agents.

Watcher: Observers that recover, process and analyze data, then relay their findings back to Ciphers and field agents. Watchers report directly to Keeper.

Keeper: A now defunct rank, in the past the Keeper was the primary leader of Imperial Intelligence. Keeper gave orders to their operatives, came up with the largest plans, and knew all the secrets of the Empire and Intelligence.

Minister of Intelligence: Once a position that belonged to the leader of the Imperial Intelligence organization, the rank has been co-opted to continue on the tradition of leadership, but is now filled by the Dark Council's Sith Representative: Lana Beniko.

Commander: Taking over the role of Keeper in so far as being the second part of the two-person leadership system alongside Lana Beniko, the Commander's role comes with a variety of differences. Rather than maintain position in Kaas' Sith Intelligence stronghold, the Commander is very often off site and deeply involved in the goings on of the galactic state.

What are the basic of playing an agent?

Your standard Intelligence agents include all available ranks aside from Keeper, which is a single role filled by an NPC in public RP. Some agents are groomed for roles in the organization from their youth, as state-sponsored orphans often fit the psychological profile desired for independent, emotionally detached fieldwork. There are even rumors suggesting that some Intelligence personnel are genetically engineered for heir work, demonstrating the degree of long-termed planning that the organization is capable of undertaking. It's important to know which role your career path/rank fills and how to play it. IE: Watchers do not often leave the Capital, Informants don't interact with known Intelligence in public, etc. Knowing the special area of expertise of your chosen designation will go a long way.

Can non-humans/aliens be Intelligence Agents?

Though humans remain the dominant force in the Empire, the Intelligence organization doesn’t have any qualms about using non-humans if they're right for the task, and so many different species are commonly recruited to serve as Imperial agents so long as their loyalty can be ensured.

Are agents recruited from outside the Empire too?

Sith Intelligence draws its new recruits from several sources. Some are drawn from the galactic underworld, such as noted assassins and information brokers, who are persuaded to stand for ideals as well as credits. Some are even pulled from slave populations, giving crafty or specially skilled non-humans a way to rise to greater heights in the Empire than they would normally be able to achieve.

Can agents be assigned to Sith?

It is not uncommon for agents within the organization to be poached by high ranking Sith Lords and Darths, having their work within the agency co-opted by serving as the personal agent of a Sith as well. While having a Sith 'sponsor' offers an additional measure of protection as agents are absorbed into a powerbase, it can also negatively effect their work within the Intelligence organization as such agents can no longer be counted on to be completely bias and likely feed information to their Sith bosses; willing or not. Intelligence assigned missions may come less often in these cases, though the agents are still considered Intel assets.

Do agents handle undercover missions?

Agents placed into positions of deep cover spend their lives living a lie for the benefit of the Empire. Placed into positions all across the galaxy, in contested and uncontested space alike, agents who are under cover acts as spies, information gatherers or puppeteers guiding events along with nobody the wiser as to their real goals. It can be a difficult assignment to undertake as many people find themselves unable to live lies for quite so long but for those who embrace their roles the rewards involved make the sacrifice worth it.

What happens if my agent screws up too many times?

With the Empire demanding loyalty from all it's people, disavowed agents are a type that find themselves on precarious ground. Removed from Intelligence, they no longer work for either organization though may still possess loyalty to the Empire. Being disavowed means that the agents in question are free to pursue whatever goals or ends they might like but function outside the Empire completely. However, they receive no support and no backing from the Empire and should they find themselves in trouble are on their own.

Okay but what if they screw up worse than that?

There exists within the levels of Nar Shaddaa a mostly unheard of place called Shadow Town. This is where agents are 'retired' if they become too much trouble to keep around running free, but are still either too valuable or dangerous to kill. Imprisoned in an Imperially controlled district secreted away from the general population, most agents here undergo conditioning to make them more pliable and are kept as prisoners. It's arguable if this is a better of worse fate than death.

What happens if my agent defects?

Though rare, sometimes even Intelligence agents defect; leaving the Empire behind and siding with the Republic or any number of third party organizations rivaling the Imperials. Though done for any number of personal reasons, defecting from the Empire is as good as a death sentence for an Agent. Possessing intelligence and skills that are definitely a threat should they be used against the Empire, defectors are hunted relentlessly and endlessly if they are enough of a threat to security and no Imperial would reasonably consider standing with them and be considered guilty by association.

Going off the Directory Idea that's floating around the site already (Bron's Jedi Order Directory) which is turn based off Chlas' Rose/Chiss Directory, we'll see if we can put together a directory of intelligence characters. I'll try and keep up with this as well as possible.

“We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal. Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is." -- John Steinbeck, East of Eden